Former WWE superstar and free agent Rob Van Dam posted on Twitter that he had “big wrestling plans” for January 4, with a link to his website, RobVanDam.com.
In a new blog posted on Sunday, Van Dam addressed the rumors that he will appear at TNA iMPACT! He wrote:
The wrestling business is exciting for the first time in quite awhile. This Monday kicks off the new ratings war between WWE and TNA-like I have to tell you! I admit, I am interested in the hype. In fact, I feel like I’m involved with this new era just because of the ginormous rumors involving me and a return. I’m going to say this-even though I know it won’t do much good-don’t be mad at me that you tuned in to see your favorite wrestler and I wasn’t there. I’m going to be watching with you.
What do you think – is RVD really staying home or could this be a swerve to keep it unexpected? Comment below.
– Word is that WWE offered Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson the guest host spot for the January 11th RAW but the offer was turned down. WWE then offered the gig to Mike Tyson, who has been confirmed to host that night.
– WWE contacted the USA Network over the weekend and requested 20 minutes of extra TV time past the normal 11:00PM for tonight’s RAW. No word yet if USA will grant the request
– The advertised dark match for tonight’s RAW in Dayton, Ohio is DX and Kofi Kingston vs. Legacy.
– WrestleMania 26 in March will once again feature a Money in the Bank ladder match with a #1 contender’s contract on the line. Raw superstar Kofi Kingston was slated to win the Money in the Bank match at WrestleMania this year but sources say now that those plans may have changed.
– Word is that WWE offered Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson the guest host spot for the January 11th RAW but the offer was turned down. WWE then offered the gig to Mike Tyson, who has been confirmed to host that night.
– WWE contacted the USA Network over the weekend and requested 20 minutes of extra TV time past the normal 11:00PM for tonight’s RAW. No word yet if USA will grant the request
– The advertised dark match for tonight’s RAW in Dayton, Ohio is DX and Kofi Kingston vs. Legacy.
– WrestleMania 26 in March will once again feature a Money in the Bank ladder match with a #1 contender’s contract on the line. Raw superstar Kofi Kingston was slated to win the Money in the Bank match at WrestleMania this year but sources say now that those plans may have changed.
Regarding new faces coming into TNA, it’s said that the company has 6-7 confirmed names that will be coming in soon, if not tonight on iMPACT then in the next few weeks.
* Rumored names like Ric Flair, Rob Van Dam, Paul Heyman and Sid are not expected to be there tonight. Heyman may not happen at all and Van Dam’s reported signing has not been confirmed. Sid is expected to come in soon but was recently injured overseas.
* It is confirmed that Angelina Love has re-signed with TNA and with the company requesting the entire roster tonight, she is expected to be there also.
* Scott Hall and Sean “X-Pac” Waltman are said to be pretty much a lock for tonight’s live show. Hall was telling people at the Hulk Hogan debut party yesterday that Waltman would be with him on iMPACT. Hall also was overheard saying they were trying to get Kevin Nash to dye his hair dark again.
* Ken Anderson, formerly Mr. Kennedy in WWE, is said to be the most likely name to appear tonight.
TNA has reportedly asked the entire roster to be in attendance tonight, including Sting.
Hulk Hogan has responded to negative comments made about him by WWE superstar CM Punk about him this morning on the BJ Shea Morning Experience show in Seattle. You can listen to an MP3 of the interview at this link.
Hogan listened to the comments and said, “Well, you know, it’s kind of like the law of attraction. He’s probably going to attract more of that negative stuff to his career because, you know, if you’re functioning on that level, that’s probably what you are going to attract, but at the end of the day, you know, I was selling out Madison Square Garden when that kid was pooping in his diapers, so you know, you’re going to see what I’m all about. I’m not there to wrestle. I don’t have a contract to wrestle. I’m there to run this company. Make it better, like I said, give the talent a choice. All the talents that are locked in there…I’m sure Vince McMahon is giving CM Punk the big push but paying him crumbs, because I know how that goes, because I’m giving the fans a choice, and the talent a choice and I’m going to prove to this negative guy that he’s wrong.â€
When asked about Punk making a personal attack on him, Hogan said, “That’s cool. I understand he’s surrounded by negative stuff up there and I can see why he’s jaded in his opinion. One of the things that I learned a long time ago is that you can’t judge anyone. You can’t judge a book by it’s cover. Some of the craziest looking, weirdest people seem to be the nicest people and the most honest people in the world. I would never judge anyone before I meet them. Some day down the road, CM Punk and I are probably going to work together and I would never judge him under any preconceived notions. I would judge him on the type of person he was when I met him. It’s all good, brother. I am vibing so high brother. I am going to reward those who are with me and those who aren’t my friends, I am going to win them over and make them my friends.â€
TNA president Dixie Carter spoke to the U.K. Sun to promote Monday night’s big RAW vs. iMPACT! battle. The following are highlights:
Expectations For Monday’s TV Rating: “How I define success is just being there. Just the fact that we are there on Monday night is a huge success for us. It makes the exact statement that we want to make. This is a marathon not a sprint. The ratings, quite honestly, are irrelevant. Our success is being there and the quality of the show we put on. That’s how I’ll assess it as far as that specific night goes.”
Hulk Hogan’s Role in TNA: “I think Terry (Hogan) has an amazing eye for talent and, with all those people your readers are mentioning, his goal is to make them household names. I can’t imagine a better person or brain to have behind the amazing talent that those young guys possess. So that’s actually one of the main reasons I brought him in. Again he’s not coming in worried about Hulk Hogan and making sure Hulk Hogan is getting over, that’s not his job. His job is to get TNA over.”
Changes Coming to TNA: “He (Hogan) is involved with everything from looking at new talent to how we are shooting the show. The two of us, over the past several months, have literally ripped apart every single aspect of the company. I wanted a fresh set of eyes on it, and what better eyes than the greatest wrestler in the history of this business. We’re looking at what we can do better, what we can do differently and what we can try.”
Competing against WWE: “They may say that they don’t consider us competition or don’t pay attention to us, but we deal with them playing those tricks with us all the time. Nothing is going to change in our game plan. We’re going to continue to do what we do best and that’s grow TNA one fan at a time. We’re not taking on Vince McMahon. We’re trying to give the wrestling fans what they want — and that is to make wrestling better as a whole.”
Bringing in New Talent: “There’s nobody we won’t go after. But they have to be right to come to the company. They have to be in it for the right reasons. They’ve got to fit in with what we’re doing. If that’s The Rock then fantastic. If it’s RVD then fantastic. It doesn’t matter. If somebody makes sense and has that work ethic and wants to embrace being a wrestler on a wrestling show and trying to do something different then we would love to have them. And, I promise you, we have many more exciting surprises to come.
The event did start promptly at five. There was quite a line to go into the Jimmy Buffet Margaritaville resturant. The event was being held on the 2nd floor which filled up real quick. They were letting only a number of people up at a time. I just happened to be at the front of the line at one point when they filled up so I was outside for quite a while. There were two camera crews filming the entire event. The Spike TV/TNA crew and the Bubba the Love Sponge radio show crew who film material for his website and DVDs.
Several people showed up and greeted fans waiting outside. First up was Eric Bischoff, who had his own personal camera man. It wasn’t a large camera so it could be footage for his own personal website
. He was definitely very polite to everyone while in front of the camera. He went through pretty much the whole line and took photos with people.
Next up was Scott Hall, who came over with someone, was probably a manager or friend or something. He too was taking pictures with the fans outside.
Vince Russo also checked out the line. He seemed very polite and talked with some of the fans.
The Spike TV/TNA crew came back to the front this time with Bubba the Love Sponge. He is doing the interviews. They first filmed Hogan coming outside with Bischoff and Scott Hall. Bubba did several interviews with fans.
Later on after we got inside of the building, they had a ton more lights and Jeremy Borash was inside with cameras pumping the crowd up. They did several shots with fans chanting various things such as “TNA” and “Hogan.” They had Bubba interviewing more fans. After they recorded the footage and some additional B-Roll they thanked the fans for coming ou
Former WWE star JBL offered his thoughts on the WWE-TNA Monday Night War in his latest Facebook blog:
Layfield, who left WWE back in April 2009, sounds excited about the idea of TNA giving WWE a run for their money.
“I am loving the Monday Night Wars being back, or at least a one night skirmish on January 4th between WWE and TNA,†said Layfield.
“Greatest trade in history was Vince Russo to WCW, it drove WCW into bankruptcy and WWE to buying their competitor and establishing world dominance. We, at the time, were starting to think that Vince McMahon was sending Russo to destroy the competition it was so bad…
“TNA has the underdog and new guy going its way, it also has Eric Bischoff, who I greatly respect. I think Eric on his round two with Vince will be prepared. Along with Hulk (Hogan) who wants to badly compete with Vince as well.
“Main thing here is international TV rights, which both covet and make money off of. With Hulk and Eric in the mix, TNA will get clearance in many good markets to add to their international profile. Also, with Dixie Carter, who is a good friend and someone I respect-you won’t have the WCW oversized corporation.â€
Brian Diamond, Spike TV’s Senior VP of Sports/Specials, was interviewed by Alex Marvez of ScrippsNews.com this week about his expectations for the Monday night battle between TNA and WWE.
Diamond has high hopes for TNA, but knows there’s a long road ahead before TNA is a legit threat to WWE.
“I don’t think we’re necessarily going to win that night (ratings-wise), but I do feel we’re best equipped going into battle with the product as it is right now,” Diamond said. “We’re all feeling very excited and confident about taking a shot and throwing our hat in the ring.”
Diamond reveals that Spike TV has some input with TNA’s creative product and admits that change is needed.
“Part of the discussion we have with TNA is what do we need to do to raise the bar and make things better,” he said. “Stronger talent and story lines are the key.”
No matter how TNA does on Monday night, it will be a learning experience and will be a big win for wrestling fans who are hungry for the next wrestling “boom.”
“We want to take a real close look at what worked [on Monday night] and what didn’t. The good news is we’re taking this plunge. It could open the door for a lot more opportunities for TNA on Spike. Competition is always good for the viewer,” Diamond said. “There are 10 million wrestling fans out there waiting for this moment.”
With just a few days until TNA’s big night going head-to-head against WWE RAW, both Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo are adding to the excitement by teasing that fans will be treated to a number of big surprises.
Vince Russo has launched a page on Facebook.com and wrote:
“Thanks for joining me here on my page. I look forward to interacting with you all. Gearing up for live show on Monday–been working around the clock. I hope you all tune in so we can give the other Vince a run for his money. There are many surprises on the show . . . MANY surprises!”
Meanwhile, Eric Bischoff posted the following on Twitter regarding Monday’s 3-hour live iMPACT:
“Wrestling fans love surprises…Monday Night Jan 4 shoulld be a fun night over at TNA”
With just a few days until TNA’s big night going head-to-head against WWE RAW, both Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo are adding to the excitement by teasing that fans will be treated to a number of big surprises.
Vince Russo has launched a page on Facebook.com and wrote:
“Thanks for joining me here on my page. I look forward to interacting with you all. Gearing up for live show on Monday–been working around the clock. I hope you all tune in so we can give the other Vince a run for his money. There are many surprises on the show . . . MANY surprises!”
Meanwhile, Eric Bischoff posted the following on Twitter regarding Monday’s 3-hour live iMPACT:
“Wrestling fans love surprises…Monday Night Jan 4 shoulld be a fun night over at TNA”
While there are a few pieces that still have to fall in place for this to happen, there is talk within WWE that Jeff Hardy will be brought back in time to wrestle C.M. Punk at WrestleMania 26.
At the time of his departure from WWE over the summer, the general feeling within WWE was that Hardy would be back in a few months. Just weeks after he left the company, police raided Hardy’s Cameron, North Carolina home and found a staggering quantity of prescription pills, among other substances. He was arrested and charged with multiple felonies. From the police report:
Jeffrey Nero Hardy was arrested on September 11, 2009 and charged with felony trafficking in opium, two counts of felony possession with intent to sell or deliver a Schedule III controlled substance, felony maintaining a dwelling to keep controlled substance, felony possession of cocaine, and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia.
At this point, the biggest obstacle between Jeff Hardy and a WWE return are the charges he’s facing. He is due back in court on January 27th for a probable cause hearing to determine whether there is enough evidence for his case to proceed to a grand jury. The grand jury would then decide whether to prosecute Hardy for the various felonies she’s been charged with.
With Linda McMahon’s United States Senate campaign a strong factor in what happens in WWE (ie. WWE toning down their product to TV-PG, family-friendly programming), the feeling is that WWE would not want to bring him back until Hardy’s legal woes gets put to bed.
Shane McMahon is officially gone from WWE. He announced his resignation from the conpany back in October and stated he would be gone effective January 1, 2010.
Earlier this month December 17th, Shane cashed in 60,000 shares for $897,000 in gross proceeds. He also exercised his stock options to acquire 60,000 shares priced between $12.94 and $13.45 per share.
According to WWE’s latest SEC filings, Shane still owns 43,449 shares of WWE stock.
Weeks after the untimely passing of Eddie “Umaga” Fatu, a batch of photos have been released showing the Samoan star looking happy and full of life.
The photos were taken during the Hulkamania: Let The Battle Begin tour of Australia in late November. Sadly, Umaga was dead 2 weeks later on December 4th.
– A few people within TNA have been floating a story around that Vince Russo has no idea where things are headed and has not talked to Hulk Hogan or Eric Bischoff. This story is false, as Russo has had recent meetings with Hogan, Bischoff and Dixie Carter. Russo himself had been telling people he hadn’t met with anyone from Team Hogan and Hogan himself also was saying the same thing. This is all a complete work.
– TNA knockout ODB won an eight woman tournament on New Year’s Eve to become the number one contender for the Knockouts Championship. She will challenge Tara for the title on the Monday’s 3-hour live Impact.
– While Monday’s TNA iMPACT will be a live show, they will still tape TV on Tuesday night from Orlando. Those tapings will air on Thursday, January 14th.
– After his bio was removed from the TNA website earlier this week, we can confirm that Cody Deaner is in fact gone from the company. He is accepting bookings at cody_deaner@hotmail.com.
– Ed “Brutus Beefcake” Leslie is working on an autobiography titled “Reborn on the Fourth of July.” Leslie survived a near-fatal parasailing accident on July 4th, 1990.
– A few people within TNA have been floating a story around that Vince Russo has no idea where things are headed and has not talked to Hulk Hogan or Eric Bischoff. This story is false, as Russo has had recent meetings with Hogan, Bischoff and Dixie Carter. Russo himself had been telling people he hadn’t met with anyone from Team Hogan and Hogan himself also was saying the same thing. This is all a complete work.
– TNA knockout ODB won an eight woman tournament on New Year’s Eve to become the number one contender for the Knockouts Championship. She will challenge Tara for the title on the Monday’s 3-hour live Impact.
– While Monday’s TNA iMPACT will be a live show, they will still tape TV on Tuesday night from Orlando. Those tapings will air on Thursday, January 14th.
– After his bio was removed from the TNA website earlier this week, we can confirm that Cody Deaner is in fact gone from the company. He is accepting bookings at cody_deaner@hotmail.com.
– Ed “Brutus Beefcake” Leslie is working on an autobiography titled “Reborn on the Fourth of July.” Leslie survived a near-fatal parasailing accident on July 4th, 1990.
– To update the story of WWE Divas champion Melina suffering a torn ACL at Tuesday’s WWE RAW house show, she went with the WWE crew to the live event in Syracuse on Wednesday and was on crutches backstage. Melina is expected to undergo surgery and will drop the title to Maryse, who was was actually scheduled to win it soon anyways. Melina has been pulled off Raw house show lineups through February.
– CMT.com, the official website of the Country Music Television network, has an article up looking at the budding music career of Mickie James. Her debut country music album will be released in March with the first single coming in Feburary. While it may seem that a new careerin country music came out of nowhere, James told CMT that she’s written poetry and stories her whole life and played the violin in high school. James knows first hand that the entertainment industry can get ugly and will take the knowledge gained in pro wrestling all the way to Nashville. “As in any entertainment industry, you have to see the sheep in wolf’s clothing and you have to be able to differentiate who’s being real and who’s just hopping on board for all the wrong reasons. Lucky for me, I’m very blessed to have come across some really, really good people and gotten them on my team.”
– To update the story of WWE Divas champion Melina suffering a torn ACL at Tuesday’s WWE RAW house show, she went with the WWE crew to the live event in Syracuse on Wednesday and was on crutches backstage. Melina is expected to undergo surgery and will drop the title to Maryse, who was was actually scheduled to win it soon anyways. Melina has been pulled off Raw house show lineups through February.
– CMT.com, the official website of the Country Music Television network, has an article up looking at the budding music career of Mickie James. Her debut country music album will be released in March with the first single coming in Feburary. While it may seem that a new careerin country music came out of nowhere, James told CMT that she’s written poetry and stories her whole life and played the violin in high school. James knows first hand that the entertainment industry can get ugly and will take the knowledge gained in pro wrestling all the way to Nashville. “As in any entertainment industry, you have to see the sheep in wolf’s clothing and you have to be able to differentiate who’s being real and who’s just hopping on board for all the wrong reasons. Lucky for me, I’m very blessed to have come across some really, really good people and gotten them on my team.”
Eric Bischoff posted a new blog entry discussing this Monday’s 1/4 live Impact special. Bischoff acknowledged WWE bringing in Bret Hart and says the timing is no coincidence. Bischoff says WWE is “reacting to the competition”, but is happy for Bret, who “will be able to put a painful and personally traumatic part of his life behind him.”
Bischoff admits that it will be difficult at first fighting against a major international corporation:
“Clearly TNA is up against a Wall Street mega-corp bully with a billion dollar bank account and a Chairman that thinks only he should have any meaningful market share of the professional wrestling business (even though he’s embarrassed to admit he’s in the professional wrestling business). It will be an up-hill battle for TNA indeed.”
WWE is big, but he thinks the current product is crap and the time is right for TNA to strike.
“Based on the mind-numbingly stupid Raw I had the misfortune of dropping in on last week, perhaps the fact that TNA stepped up and is at least taking a swing at the bully was enough to make McMahon realize that he could not afford to take his audience for granted and continue to shove tripe down the throats of his Goliath “universe” while David was reaching for a stone.
“This Monday Night…win, lose, or draw I have to give credit to the folks at TNA and Spike. They could have taken the easy path and put their best foot forward un-opposed. That would make the most sense to many people. But by at least getting into the fight, TNA is most likely going to gain the awareness and respect of a completely different audience.”
With both WWE and TNA gearing up for a Monday night to remember, Bischoff says the real winner will be the wrestling fans.
“Wrestling fans are not only going to have a choice this Monday night, they will most likely see a higher quality product all the way around. And for that they should thank TNA.”
Eric Bischoff posted a new blog entry discussing this Monday’s 1/4 live Impact special. Bischoff acknowledged WWE bringing in Bret Hart and says the timing is no coincidence. Bischoff says WWE is “reacting to the competition”, but is happy for Bret, who “will be able to put a painful and personally traumatic part of his life behind him.”
Bischoff admits that it will be difficult at first fighting against a major international corporation:
“Clearly TNA is up against a Wall Street mega-corp bully with a billion dollar bank account and a Chairman that thinks only he should have any meaningful market share of the professional wrestling business (even though he’s embarrassed to admit he’s in the professional wrestling business). It will be an up-hill battle for TNA indeed.”
WWE is big, but he thinks the current product is crap and the time is right for TNA to strike.
“Based on the mind-numbingly stupid Raw I had the misfortune of dropping in on last week, perhaps the fact that TNA stepped up and is at least taking a swing at the bully was enough to make McMahon realize that he could not afford to take his audience for granted and continue to shove tripe down the throats of his Goliath “universe” while David was reaching for a stone.
“This Monday Night…win, lose, or draw I have to give credit to the folks at TNA and Spike. They could have taken the easy path and put their best foot forward un-opposed. That would make the most sense to many people. But by at least getting into the fight, TNA is most likely going to gain the awareness and respect of a completely different audience.”
With both WWE and TNA gearing up for a Monday night to remember, Bischoff says the real winner will be the wrestling fans.
“Wrestling fans are not only going to have a choice this Monday night, they will most likely see a higher quality product all the way around. And for that they should thank TNA.”
According to multiple reports, WWE Divas champion Melina appeared to suffer a knee injury at Tuesday night’s WWE Raw house show in Manchester, New Hampshire.
During a Divas tag match, Melina slipped on the mat and was immediately grabbing her knee. The match was ended abruptly, with Melina getting pinned quickly and helped out of the ring. She did not take any further bumps in the match after going down.
Sources within WWE fear that Melina suffered a torn ACL, according to a report at PWInsider.com. She was examined backstage and is seeing a specialist this week to diagnose the extent of the situation.
An update on the injury is expected soon.
Here are some photos of Melina’s injury, sent in by reader David O’Neil:
– The 12/28 edition of WWE Raw drew a 3.6 rating, up from last week’s disappointing 3.2. The show did hours of 3.49 and 3.73.
– There is a report going around that Cryme Tyme member Shad Gaspard and his girlfriend Siliana Chanel will having a child sometime in March before WrestleMania.
– As noted earlier, reports are that marijuana use is down on WWE’s SmackDown brand while up on the RAW side. One source notes that this is incorrect and both sides are about even when it comes to marijuana use these days. There are several superstars on both rosters that are being held back due to their fondness of the illicit green plant.
We are sad to report that “Dr. Death” Steve Williams lost his battle with cancer last night, passing away at the age of 49.
He had been battling throat cancer for a number of years, first apparently beating it in 2005. It came back this year and his health had worsened in recent months.
Williams held numerous titles in North America and Japan throughout his lengthy career in the wrestling industry. He also achieved All-American status as a collegiate football player at the University of Oklahoma.
Williams, a close friend of Jim Ross, wrestled for WWE, WCW, UWF, All Japan among other organizations around the world. After the death of longtime rival and friend Mitsuharu Misawa this past June, Williams made the decision to retire from the ring after twenty-seven years of service. His final match was held on October 25, 2009 in Tokyo.
Our condolences go out to the family and friends of Steve Williams.
We are sad to report that “Dr. Death” Steve Williams lost his battle with cancer last night, passing away at the age of 49.
He had been battling throat cancer for a number of years, first apparently beating it in 2005. It came back this year and his health had worsened in recent months.
Williams held numerous titles in North America and Japan throughout his lengthy career in the wrestling industry. He also achieved All-American status as a collegiate football player at the University of Oklahoma.
Williams, a close friend of Jim Ross, wrestled for WWE, WCW, UWF, All Japan among other organizations around the world. After the death of longtime rival and friend Mitsuharu Misawa this past June, Williams made the decision to retire from the ring after twenty-seven years of service. His final match was held on October 25, 2009 in Tokyo.
Our condolences go out to the family and friends of Steve Williams.